I’ve planted a little garden in my side yard, in the perfect spot for success. My little vegetable plants – green beans, squash, cucumber – are between my kitchen door and the gate, so I’ll see them any time I open my door. So far, this has been enough to remind me to keep them watered. I put up a short gate and fence a month or so ago, in order to keep Harvey in the back yard and away from the enticing things he likes to chew: doormat, patio chairs, potted plants, gardening tools. So Harvey can’t eat my new garden. I’ve also got a blueberry bush. Several of these plants, which I started from seeds, will need to climb on something, so I’ve placed old metal chairs with tall backs, and a lovely rusty part of a bed frame against my fence. Already, my little garden is growing, and looking very fresh and springy. I’m so proud of the baby plants – and I hope I don’t botch it altogether.
I’m also seeing some growth with my manuscript. As you know, I entered the ABNA contest, but didn’t make it past the second round. After I entered, I discovered the wonderful book Manuscript Makeover, which really opened my eyes to some of the mistakes I was making. I deleted some irrelevant parts, particularly in the beginning, reduced my number of POV characters and changed how much face time each one had. I moved the supernatural element closer to the beginning so it wasn’t such a surprise. And I kept revising with so many more things in mind. Here’s the growth part: I got my ABNA reviews, and was delighted. The first reviewer said it was all around good, I have an excellent grasp of grammar, structure, characterization, and so on. She just had a few problems to point out – and they corresponded exactly with the elements I had already recognized and changed. So nice. The second reviewer was less kind. She did have some token nice things to say, but there was no practical advice I could take back to the manuscript with me to improve the story. Her main criticism was this: Why would I be reading this story instead of any other story? That took me aback; why indeed? On one extreme, you could say that no story has any value unless everyone who picks it up is enthralled and would rather be reading it than anything else. On the other extreme, you have the idea that every person has their own preferences, and we don’t all enjoy the same types of stories. So I’ve been thinking about this spectrum of story appeal, and where a writer should try to be. If you want to be published, your story has to appeal to enough people to make it viable in the marketplace. If you’re writing purely for yourself, then it doesn’t matter if anyone likes it but you. I do want to be published – and I wonder if my book had already had the corrections and improvements, would this judge have liked it at all. Or possibly it just isn’t her type of story. I don’t know. All of this thought is making me grow as a writer, though, and ultimately increasing my personal success and my chances of being published eventually, whether with the current manuscript or another. Growth is always good.